The invention concerns a double clutch comprising two wet clutches arranged in a wet chamber, and a torsional vibration damper.
Double clutches for automotive vehicles are well-known in the art.
These double clutches can be configured with two wet clutches superposed radially in a stacked arrangement or disposed axially behind each other for operation in a closed wet chamber filled with a fluid such as hydraulic oil or the like.
It is further possible to arrange torsional vibration dampers in the wet chamber for damping torsional vibrations which can be introduced into the drive train particularly by internal combustion engines such as high torque Diesel engines. With an increasingly erratic running of the internal combustion engine, the torsional vibration dampers, such as, for example, dual mass flywheels, need to be more strongly dimensioned leading to a higher axial design space requirement for the double clutch due to the fact that the torsional vibration damper is arranged adjacent to the wet clutches in axial direction.
In one construction of the double clutch transmission, a dual mass flywheel (“DMFW”) comprising a centrifugal force pendulum (“CP”) arranged in its interior is situated in the dry chamber. In this case, two clutches are operated in parallel on the secondary side of the DMFW and are both situated in the wet chamber while being arranged behind one another. This makes it possible to optionally arrange an electro motor outside of the clutch (in the dry chamber).
However, this construction of the double clutch transmission has the following drawbacks:                Due to the axial arrangement of the clutch packs, unused design space remains between the electro motor and the clutch housing despite the electro motor.        In the arrangement of the centrifugal force pendulum within the DMFW, the effective radius of the centrifugal force pendulum cannot be enlarged at will. The potential of the centrifugal force pendulum is consequently not optimally utilized.        Moreover, the centrifugal force pendulum runs in a dry environment, i.e. without lubrication. Compared to a centrifugal force pendulum situated in an oil bath, this can result in increased wear.        An arrangement of the centrifugal force pendulum in the dry chamber can lead to corrosion of the components which results in deterioration of the function.        